The present invention relates to a washer/dryer for a conveyor belt and, more particularly, to a combination washing/drying apparatus for cleaning a conveyor belt within an enclosed space.
Conveyor belts are used in many industrial applications, including applications involving preparation of food products. It will be appreciated that a conveyor belt accumulates dirt and other deposits over time and through usage. Although cleanliness is desirable in many applications, it is particularly desirable, and often required, in food preparation applications. In addition to normal dirt and dust that may accumulate on a conveyor belt in a plant, use of a conveyor belt in a food application process often times exposes the belt to spillage and overflow of food products. Over time, these food products can become embedded in and/or baked onto the belt, particularly when the belt passes through a high temperature oven.
It will, therefore, be appreciated by those skilled in the art that cleaning of conveyor belts in food application processes is a necessary and ongoing requirement. Often times, the wash tank is permanently installed as part of the conveyor belt setup whereby a point on a conveyor belt will pass through the wash tank each time it completely traverses the entire track of the setup.
One preferred washer design is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,287, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. As discussed in the '287 patent, the disclosed design provides increase cleaning performance, adaptability to various sized conveyor belts including belts having substantial widths, improved serviceability, and improved containment of pressurized fluid within the wash tank.
Although the '287 patent provides an improved design for washing conveyor belts, the '287 apparatus, as well as the prior art, are lacking with respect to conveyor belt dryers. More particularly, the prior art dryers suffer from two main disadvantages: (1) the inability to fully dry the conveyor belt, and/or (2) the inability to contain/collect the fluid that has been removed from the belt. Moreover, the prior art has failed to adequately combine the washing and drying functions into a single, integrated unit. In this regard, the prior art has often required separate washing and drying apparatuses, which generally occupy additional floor space and extend along a substantial portion of the belt pathway. These limitations also make it more difficult to install the prior art washers and dryers on existing conveyor belts.
There is, therefore, a need in the art for an improved conveyor belt washer/dryer that preferably combines the separate washing and drying functions into an integrated unit, which is capable of both washing and drying the belt within an enclosed space, and which reduces/eliminates excess spray and/or discharge of fluid into the surrounding environment.